In recognition of the scope and urgency of the childhood obesity epidemic in the United States, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), held a meeting in 2008 to discuss the initiation of a formal research collaboration to advance and accelerate progress in addressing the nation?s childhood obesity epidemic. The group formed the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR). Currently, the NCCOR member organizations consist of the NIH, CDC, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). NCCOR has been an ongoing collaboration since 2009, with a Coordinating Center that has functioned to: coordinate the ever? expanding activities of partner agencies; facilitate public-private partnerships by developing and enhancing relationships with stakeholder organizations; provide instrumental and scientific support for approved NCCOR activities including projects, workgroups, communications with stakeholders; and serving as a state of the science clearinghouse for current and ongoing scientific activities regarding the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity from policy initiatives to research findings.